Science/Medicine : Wet Stitches OK, Doctor Says

Although not all doctors may agree, a new study indicates that stitches can--and apparently should--get wet.

Dr. Joel M. Noe, an assistant professor of plastic surgery at Harvard Medical School, conducted a study involving 100 patients who had lesions removed from their skin at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and then had their incisions closed with nylon stitches.

All the patients were asked to wash the wounds with soap and water twice a day, beginning the morning after surgery. They were told they could shower and wet the stitches but were advised not to bathe. They were evaluated three to 12 days later.

“All the wounds were noted to heal primarily. There were no infections. There were no disruptions nor (openings) of the wound,” Noe said in a report in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

“The benefit of being able to wet stitches is obvious because of less disruptions in daily activities,” Noe said.